Comments by "flagmichael" (@flagmichael) on "How to Diagnose a bad Catalytic Converter on Toyota and Lexus" video.

  1. WOW! This is probably the most enlightening video - car or otherwise - I have seen in a very long time. Lots and lots of details I didn't know about how the ECU interacts with the converter, how to find an exhaust leak so small that only the converter cares about it, and other things that could have led me in the wrong direction.
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  2. Auto week says it is the same in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state and Washington D.C. They are collectively called "CARB states."
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  3. Remember what the CCN said about the things to check, including vacuum leaks. Replacing two catalytic converters in hopes that is what really is the problem is a lot of money to place on a bet. If I get a P0420 code again I will rewatch the video, take notes, and check each issue (including the possibility of not driving enough / far enough) before I get too wild with my wallet. If the two codes came up within a year or two of each other, I would be especially dubious of the two converters failing so close in time .
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  4. Me too! I haven't had to deal with an evap system problem and have no confidence in my present level of understanding.
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  5. FWIW, I have never changed jack oil, but occasionally I have had to top it up. The jacks do not seem to last too long once they get to that stage, though.
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  6. Lacquer thinner is not all one thing. The desirable part is what the Brits call "white spirit" - any of a few related petroleum distillates. Klean Strip, according to the MSDS, is mostly acetone, with naphtha (okay stuff), toluene (good stuff that is sometimes used as an octane booster), methanol (bad stuff that corrodes aluminum), and five other things. The last on the list is venerable Stoddard Solvent... but the idea of putting those in the fuel tank of a modern car gives me the willies.
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  7. Just to add in - I would never ever ever ever have a tire replaced at Walmart. Check out "DIY Seized/Stopped Lug Nut Removal" at the South Main Auto channel https://youtu.be/0Oi_DU-r5Wc "For the record the customer bought the car this way. It was recently at the Walmart for service before he bought it..."
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  8. First rule of troubleshooting: make everything right (at least the things you can see) and see what problems remain.
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  9.  @stevec3526  Good info about Costco - thanks!
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